Lap counter or indicator.



J. A. BUTLER.

LAP COUNTER 0R INDICATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, 1916.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

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J. A. BUTLER.

LAP COUNTER 0R INDlCATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 26, I916.

1,287,872. Patented Dec.17, 1918.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3.

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JAMES A. BUTLER, F WOLLASTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO AMERICAN FELT COMPANY, A GGRPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTS.

LAP COUNTER on rnnrca'ron.

Application filed April 26, 1916.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES A. BUTLER, a citizen of the United States, residing at l/Vollaston, in the county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in Lap Counters or Indicators, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part thereof.

This invention has reference to improvements in devices for counting the laps in the formation of a bat or for indicating the presence or approach of a point on material of which notification is desired. In its application, as herein more particularly referred to, the invention relates to a device adapted to count and indicate the laps of felt taken up successively in superposed relation on the carrier or apron of any known bat forming machine whereby at or about the completion of the application of the final lap attention may be called to the fact.

An object of this invention is to so construct a lap counting device that the application of the successive laps may be indicated and that at or about the completion of the application of a predetermined number of laps, to the bat under process of formation, an alarm may be sounded.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for automatically resetting the device.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the following description.

The invention consists in the novel means for intermittently operating the indicator device and in the mechanism for preventing the effective operation of said means at times.

The invention also consists in the means for resetting the mechanism relative to its indicating elements.

The invention also consists in the means for alarming the operator.

The invention also consists in such other novel features of construction and combina tion of parts as shall hereinafter be more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

Figure 1, represents a front elevation of the improved lap counter shown in relation to parts of a bat formingmachine of well known construction.

Fig. 2, represents an end view of ;t l1e im Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 17, 1918.

Serial No. 93.792.

proved device, a part of the bat carrying apron being shown in section.

Fig. 3, represents a rear view of parts of the device portions of the same being broken away.

Fig. 1, represents a sectional view taken on line 4-4 Fig. 3.

Fig. 5, represents enlarged details of some of the parts.

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts throughout.

The improved lap counter is herein illustrated in relation to a bat forming machine of any ordinary construction having a continuous lap carrier or apron mounted or sustained by rolls or other suitable means and operated in any usual manner to take up, usually from a preliminary machine, a lap of felt and to carry said lap around to take up other similar laps in superposed relation until the product constitutes a bat of the desired thickness or having the desired number of laps, as the case may be. Such machine usually has a side frame of which a portion is shown at A and is provided with the carrier or apron B adapted to be sustained and operated in any known manner and preferably having the reinforced edge C. In the present instance this apron B is provided with the raised member D the purpose of which will hereinafter be described.

Mounted on the frame member A is the base 5 of the bracket 6 having the plate 7. Bracket 6 has the upwardly extending memher 8, the laterally extending arms 9 and 10, and the bracket member 8 has the studs 11, 12 and 13, on the latter of which studs 12 and 13 is secured the dial 14: which has suitable graduations on its face.

Bracket member 6 has, in alinement with the axis of dial 1 1-, a bearing in which is journaled the shaft 15 which extends through an opening in the dial 14 and has at its outer end the pointer or hand 16 adapted, when shaft 15 is rotated, to swing over the face of said dial.

On said shaft-15 is fixed the pulley sheave 17 havingfixed thereto the cable 18 which extends through a bore in the bracket 6 and the frame A and has a suitable weight 19. The ratchet 20 is also fixed on said shaft 15 and has a series of transverse perforations to receive pins 21 and 22. The actuation of said bracket .8; arm 42 is of. aflength to will be efiected by the weight 19 through its cable" 18 and-sheave 17 while the intermit tent operationof said shaft 15, and of course its pointer 16, against said weight 19 will be effected by the pawl 23 pivotally mounted on V i operating with the cam finger 49 of the latch or hook 50 which is pivotally mountedjon a member of the pawl arm 2% and pressed by its spring 25 into engagement with the teeth of ratchet 20. This pawlarmfii is mounted to swing on shaft 15 and has the pivoted connecting rod 26 which at itslower end ex:

tends through a perforationof the arm27 which arm 27 is located between the stop 28 ofis'aid rod 26 and the c0llar29 which is slidable on said rod and is sustained by the spring 30 whereby the. action or" said arm27 on rod 26 is cushioned in-one direction. j

--Arm;27 constitutes a member of anactuator device which comprises the shaft 31 mounted to rock in a bearing of the bracket 6 and having the lever32 furnished with the rider disk ;or wheel 33, spring 34; acting against arm 27 tends to swing. upward said arm and rod 26, and to effect the rocking of shaft 3l to swing downward the free end of lever 32vto-press its rider 333 againstthesurface of the carrier apronC in line with the projection ,orrise D on said carrier apron and, in its passage beneath the rider 83 the carrier apron is sustained vbythe member'35 which is sustained by thearm 36 secured to the bracket plate7. (Fig. 2;) V v j i J 5 Provision is made to prevent the retractiverotation of ratchet 20 with the retraction of pawl arm 24, under certain conditions, by providing the bracket arm 10 withthe pivoted pawl 37 which is pres'sedrby its spring38-in a direction to engage the teeth of the ratchet 20 and to hold said ratchet duringthe retractive movement of pawl arm 24:: and its pawl 23efiected by the actionvof spring 3& on the arm 27 and the transmis sion of, motion from said arms 27 through stop 28 and rod 26 to said pawl carrying ar1n2t. i

, The journaled portion of shaft 15 isembraced by the sleeve 39 and on this sleeve is mounted, to swing, the member 10 having theangularly positioned arms il, 42 and 43 of which arm 41 has the projection 4a and is of a length and construction'to beyield inglyengaged at its upper end byacooperating spring 45 mounted at the upper end of the bracket 8, said arm 11 having a limited movement between stops, at this portion of extend approximately to the 'periphery of lffitCllGtQOghflVlDg a limited movement between stops of arm 10 and arm 4,2 has the shield 46 which overlies said periphery "and 1 by a movement of member 10. maybe intro-' duced between said periphery of ratchet 20 and; the pawls 23 and 37 whereby saidpawls maybe held from engagement with the teeth of said ratchet to permit weight 19'to actin arm 43 of said membereO has the cam edge 47 and is adapted to be intercepted by the stop 11 of bracket member 8, the edge d7 cothe bracketmember 8 and has the spring 51 which acts to draw downward the free end of said latch. I v a Pivotally mounted on the arm 9 of bracket Sis the alarm carrier 52 having the projgec tion 53 adapted to be engaged by the latch 50'to sustain said carrier 52 in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 under certain condi-; tions. On the extension 54: ofthis carrier 52' is the alarm gong 55 havinga striking device or hammer of any usual construction adapted to be operated by or through the rod .56 which rod is adapted tobe actuated by its bell crank lever 57 pivotally mounted on a istudlextending from the carrier 52 and having one of its arms furnished'with the cam edge 58. In order, at times, toefiect theintermittent actuation of bell cranklever 57 I provide the shaft 59 which is journaled in a bearing of carrier 52 and has at one end the wheel 60, adapted to be'driven by con tact with moving'material, and atthe other end with the disk 61 having the tooth 62 which in therotation'of said disk161 is adapted to ride against'the cam edge '58 of the'lever '57 to efiect'the swinging Ofsa d lever to operate the gong or alarm striker.

The pins21 and 22 may be placed in various perforations'of the ratchet disk 20'to effect a controllingaction on parts of the mechanism as v will hereafter be described. Ordinarily pin 22 "will be placedrelative to the location of pointer 16 and pin 21'will be placed in a perforation of said ratchet disk 20 corresponding to the number of laps of material to belaid or to the predetermined number of intermittent actuations ofthe ratchet'disk desired to be accomplished prior to the release of the alarm carrier or thebringingof the alarm apparatus into action. it is'to'be understood that these pins 21 and 22 extend sufliciently from one surface of the ratchet disk 20 to, at times, engage the projection 44 on'arm 41 of the controller member as indicated in Fig. 2 of the draw lngs. j

U .With' the parts of'the machine positioned will be seen that at each movement of the projectionfD beneath its related rider disk 33'said disk will'be'ra'ised or will ride upward thus eflecting the swinging movement or lever32'to draw down rod 26 whereby the I V approximately as shown in the drawings it to which said disk is fixed, the sheave 17 to take up cable 18 against the action of weight 19 and to swing the pointer 16 relative to dial 14 whereby to indicate such movement. As the pawl arm 2-1 with the mechanism actuated through it reaches the limit of such movement the holding pawl 37 becomes engaged with the ratchet disk 20 and holds the same against retractive movement exerted by the weighted cable 18 while pawl arm 2st is returned to place by the swinging of lever 32 under the action of spring 34:.

After predetermined number of actuations of the ratchet disk 20 has been accomplished by an equivalent number of movements of the projection D beneath the rider 33, said operations being indicated by the pointer 16 on the dial 1%, pin 21 will engage the projection 1% on arm 11 of member and, on the next actuation of ratchet 20 will effect the swinging of said arm 11 and its related arms as and as with the result that said arm 41 will be brougat into engagement with spring 45 which will resist the retractive movement of said arm 11; arm 12 will carry its shield 16 between the pawls 23 and 8? and the teeth of ratchet disk 20 and the edge of said shield riding against the curved edges of said pawls may effect the swinging of said pawls out of engagement with said ratchet, simultaneously arm 13 of member 40 acts by its edge 47 against member 49 of latch 50 to swing said latch out of engagement with the projection 53 of carrier 52 whereby said carrier may swing downward until its traveler disk rides on the apron B or on material carried by said apron and is rotated by frictional contact with such apron ormaterial whereby the projection 62 of the disk 61 is caused to actuate lever 57 to operate the alarm and to thus notify the operator that this particular machine requires attention.

At the time at which the pawls 23 and 37 are both disengaged from ratchet 20 said ratchet with its shaft 15 and sheave 17 may be reversely rotated by the cable 18 of said sheave 17 under the drawing action of weight 19 and pointer 16 will swing with shaft 15 to its initial position. In such retractive rotation of ratchet 20 and as the pointer approaches its initial position pin 22 engages the projection 44 of arm 41 and carries said arm out of engagement with spring 45 while the rotation of member 40 caused by the swinging of arm 4:1 acts to swing arm 12 to move its shield 46 from between the pawls 24- and 37 and ratchet 20.

Such resetting action of the indicating and alarm releasing mechanism is independent of the alarm mechanism and this latter mechanism can continue to operate after such resetting has occurred and until the carrier 52 is swung upward to eng e its aro'ection 53 with the latch 50. this may be l 3 accomplished by the operator at the time he removes the laps of material from the apron B.

Having thus described my invention I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. hilechanism of the nature described comprising a traveling member having a am, an alarm carrier mounted to move toward said traveling member, alarm mechanism mounted on said carrier and having an actuating device operative through traveling contact of said member, a. latch adapted to sustain said alarm carrier, and latch releasing means having an actuating device adapted to be intermittently operated by said cam of the tr veling member to progressively advance said latch releasing means toward the latch releasing point.

2. Mechanism of the nature described, having, in combination, a traveling member for conveying a strip of felt or other material, a cam carried by the traveling member, an element in the path of the travel of the cam, an indicating device connected to said element to progressively indicate the intermittent engagement of the cam with said element, means for resetting the indicating device, means for sustaining the indicating device from resetting; movement, and means actuated by engagement of the cam with said element to release said sustaining means.

3. Mechanism of the nature described comprising a traveling member having a cam, a bracket adjacent said member and having a pivoted arm, an alarm carried by said arm and having an actuating device adapted to be operated by traveling contact of said member, a latch pivotally mounted on said bracket and adapted to engage and sustain said arm, means to release said latch, and means for operating said release means including an element adapted to be actuated by the cam of said traveling member.

4:. Mechanism of the nature described comprising a traveling member having a cam, a bracket adjacent said member and having a pivoted arm, an alarm carried by said arm and havingan actuating; device adapted to be operated by travelingcontact of said member, a. latch pivotally mounted on said bracket and adapted to engage and sustain said arm, means to release said latch comprising a rotary shaft having a ratchet, a pawl to engage said ratchet, and means adapted to be actuated by the cam of said traveling member to intermittently move said pawl in an advancing direction.

5. Mechanism of the nature described, having, in combination, a traveling member for conveying a strip of felt or other material, a cam carried by the traveling member, a shaft, a ratchet mounted on the shaft. a ivoted arm having a pawl to engage the ratchet, an actuator for the pivoted arm intermittently operated by said cam to effect the intermittent rotation of the shaft through said pawl and ratchet Wheel, an indicating device operated by. rotation of said shaft, a pivoted arm having a shield adapted to be interposed between the ratchet i and pawl, and means actuated by movement of said shaft to move. said shield arm to interpose 1ts shield between the ratchet and a pawl.

said element to progressively indicate the intermittent engagement of the cam with said element, an alarm mechanism operated by engagement of a member thereol with the traveling member, alatch member for normally sustaining said alarm mechanism out ofoperative engagement with the travcling member, means actuated by movement ofsaid element for releasing the latch member to permit operative engagement of the alarm Inechanismwvith the traveling member, said alarm mechanism constructed to .be returned to inoperative position by the engagement of the cam with said member ofthe alarm mechanism,

7 JAMES A. BUTLERQ Copies of this patent may be obtained forfiveeents each, by addressing the commissionerlof Iatents,

Washington, D. G. 

